Chris Tang

Chris Tang Ping-keung (born 4 July 1965) is a Hong Kong law enforcement administrator who has been serving as the Secretary for Security of Hong Kong since June 2021.

Tang was born on 4 July 1965 in Hong Kong to a family with roots in Dongguan, Guangdong.

He lived in Hong Kong's then the Western District since he was a child, and moved out when he got married.

Tang joined the Hong Kong Police Force in 1987 immediately after his graduation from the Chinese University of Hong Kong with a bachelor of social science in social work.

He received a bachelor of social science with a major in social work from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1987.

Tang also holds a master of business administration and a master's degree in international security and strategy.

He joined the Royal Hong Kong Police Force in the 1987 as an inspector.

He spent many years working in the criminal investigation, international liaison and operational command.

He was seconded to Interpol General Secretariat a specialised officer from 2006 to 2008, before he was promoted in the organisation as the head of Criminal Organisation and Violent Unit.

In 2015, Tang was appointed Assistant Commissioner of Police and discharged duties as regional commander of Hong Kong Island and Assistant Commissioner, Personnel.

He was promoted to the rank of Senior Assistant Commissioner and appointed as Director of Operations in January 2017, before he became Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations) in December 2018.

He was awarded the Police Distinguished Service Medal in 2018.

He previously served as the Commissioner of Police of Hong Kong from 2019 to 2021, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations) from 2018 to 2019, and Director of Operations of the Hong Kong Police Force from 2017 to 2018.

Tang was appointed the Commissioner of Police of Hong Kong by the State Council of China in November 2019, succeeding Stephen Lo amid the widespread 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, at a time when police were under unrelenting criticism for excessive use of force.

He was in charge of the police operation code-named Tiderider in response to street protests triggered by the extradition bill since June 2019.

He has stated that the police are against having an independent inquiry into allegations of police brutality, which is a key demand from the protesters, and claimed "fake news" was undermining the reputation of his police force.

Following Tang's appointment as the Commissioner of Police in November 2019, the police changed its motto from "We serve with pride and care" which had been used for more than 20 years, to "Serving Hong Kong with Honour, Duty and Loyalty."

According to the Taiwan News, he "is known as a hardliner in the conflict with the pro-democracy protesters."

He has said the violence perpetrated by activists is "very close to terrorism."

On 3 July 2020, Xinhua, a China's national news agency, stated that the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was formally established with 10 members.

As the Commissioner of Hong Kong Police Force, Tang was an ex officio member of the committee.

On 10 February 2021, Carrie Lam awarded Tang the Chief Executive's Commendation for Government/Public Service for his "significant contribution to safeguarding national security and the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law."

In February 2021, Tang said that he was considering legislation to ban insults to both police officers and public officials.

In August 2020, Tang and ten other Hong Kong officials were sanctioned by the United States Department of the Treasury under an Executive Order 13936 by President Trump for acts undermining Hong Kong's autonomy.

Chris Tang reportedly transferred his mortgage of property in Southern District from HSBC to Bank of China (Hong Kong) three days before sanctions took effect.

Tang was on a list issued by the US State Department on 14 October 2020, of ten individuals who materially contributed to the failure of the China to meet its obligations under the Sino–British Joint Declaration and Hong Kong's Basic Law.

In April 2021, Tang claimed that the United States had used its agents in Hong Kong to stir anti-governmental protests in 2019, and claimed that the protests were not caused by the now-withdrawn extradition bill.

Also in April 2021, Tang criticized Apple Daily, stating that the pro-democracy newspaper was spreading fake news and inciting hatred in the city.

In January 2022, Tang claimed that foreign spies were in Hong Kong since 2019 "to foment a 'colour revolution' in Hong Kong" and that new security legislation was needed to "handle espionage acts and offences in a targeted manner to prevent incidents endangering national security".

In March 2022, Tang threatened those who were asked by government officers to isolate at COVID-19 community isolation facilities that "If they refuse to go, they can be fined HK$5,000 or given up to two months in jail. If they leave the facilities during isolation, they can be fined HK$5,000 as well, or face up to six months behind bars".

In April 2022, Chinese style goose stepping was announced to be implemented across the entire force, a year after Tang claimed that the force had "no plans" to change to it.

In August 2022, Tang said that the government will increase the propaganda for national security education.

In September 2022, Tang said that external forces were still present and actively trying to undermine the government.

In November 2022, at the Hong Kong Sevens, Tang was booed and told to "wear a mask" by the crowd.

In November 2022, Tang said that members of lion dance performances should be examined for criminal behavior.

In January 2023, Tang said that no protests had been approved in 3 years due to "health" concerns.

In February 2023, Tang said that some visitors to prisons used their visits to "corrupt" youth and instill hatred of the Hong Kong government into them.

In April 2023, Tang hailed the 100% conviction rate in national security cases.

Tang also said that security risks at protests and rallies "certainly exist," after some organizers said "We sincerely urge the authorities to stop exaggerating the risk for demonstrations to be hijacked."

In July 2023, Tang said "Anyone who sees someone with weird facial expressions, muttering and looking ferocious, should notify the police as soon as possible"; the Security Bureau later said this was taken out of context.